Kinect for Windows v1.0 (via Microsoft)
The Microsoft Kinect is a widely popular object tracking camera system first released for the XBOX 360. It allows users to interface with games and menus without operating a controller. After its release, the "hacker" community quickly adapted the tech for use with computers. Simple tracking programs and art based developments soon followed. Due to the popularity, Microsoft started the Kinect Accelerator program, offering large cash prizes for further development with the Kinect.
Flash forward to today, Microsoft has released the Kinect for Windows version 1.0. Included in the release is a SDK and runtime environments. Most notable in the release is a "near-mode" for the new Kinect hardware, allowing tracking to be clear at 40 cm (approx 15 inches). Having one on a desk is completely feasible now. (With the XBOX setup, users have to be several meters away for accurate tracking.)
Improved tracking, controlling up to four Kinect sensors, improved speech recognition, and a driver update system is included in the release of v1 hardware and software. The SDK is meant for companies looking to develop software or other products for the Kinect, but it is available for anyone to download at the moment. Applications written in C++, C#, or Visual Basic in MS Visual Studios 2010 is supported right out of the box.
The Kinect for Windows hardware is planned to cost $250, and it is available now. An educational price of $150 will happen later this year. I sense a mad rush to be the first to market various control interfaces using Kinect. Hop in the dev-train now, or read more about the release at the Kinect for Windows page.
Flash forward to today, Microsoft has released the Kinect for Windows version 1.0. Included in the release is a SDK and runtime environments. Most notable in the release is a "near-mode" for the new Kinect hardware, allowing tracking to be clear at 40 cm (approx 15 inches). Having one on a desk is completely feasible now. (With the XBOX setup, users have to be several meters away for accurate tracking.)
Improved tracking, controlling up to four Kinect sensors, improved speech recognition, and a driver update system is included in the release of v1 hardware and software. The SDK is meant for companies looking to develop software or other products for the Kinect, but it is available for anyone to download at the moment. Applications written in C++, C#, or Visual Basic in MS Visual Studios 2010 is supported right out of the box.
The Kinect for Windows hardware is planned to cost $250, and it is available now. An educational price of $150 will happen later this year. I sense a mad rush to be the first to market various control interfaces using Kinect. Hop in the dev-train now, or read more about the release at the Kinect for Windows page.
Cabe
How will we look using Kinect for Windows? Find out in this week's Engineering On Friday.
More Kinect based projects:
Holodesk, the virtual 3D desktop
Robotic shopping cart, follows its user around
Advanced robot tech for the masses
